Be Safe. Be Humble. Live Hip-Hop.

September 26, 2012September 6, 2015

Radio vs The Local Artist Part 1 “How Do I Get Radio Play?”

As a person who works in radio and also had a stint as a serious artist I have had a chance to work on both sides of this coin. The number question asked by local artist is either “How Can I get Radio Play” or “Can you play my song on the radio”

Things to remember are the following

Corporate Radio is different than “Mom and Pop Radio”. You cant simply just walk up to a station, get cool with some people and guarantee a spin or strengthen you chances at getting a spin

If you are signed you shouldn’t be making trips to stations. That should be what Record Reps and A&R’s are doing for you. Label representations job is to make sure you get spins, booked, interviews, etc. You can do your own work to markets they don’t cover.

There are exceptions to EVERY RULE. If you are a local artist who has a song that is in HIGH DEMAND in your city there is a chance you will get play. Why? Because Radio Stations thrive on the people and what they put in demand. The “uphill battle” in corporate radio becomes “This artist song is hot here can we give it a tier and play it exclusively in our market cause it will win”…Notice how even though you are buzzing and in demand we still have work to do just to get you in our playlist.

My advice: Take your song, get it to DJ’s, get it off your block, build a real fan base…MAKE RADIO LOOK FOR YOU CAUSE YOUR CITY HAS PUT YOU IN DEMAND!